The MPOWER programme created by HIV Ireland has now launched a free counselling service for people impacted by the current monkeypox outbreak. The service offers free counselling to anyone who is in need of support.
If you have recently been diagnosed with monkeypox and you are finding it difficult to deal with it or if you are experiencing anxiety over the current outbreak, you can now get in touch with the MPOWER team to get support.
The new counselling service offers six free-of-charge sessions with an MPOWER psychotherapist where anyone in need will have the time and space to discuss the impact that the current monkeypox outbreak has on their mental, sexual and social health.
The sessions will take place online via Zoom and all you need to do to self-refer for the service is send an email to [email protected] with your name and contact number. A member of their team will then get in touch with you to initiate the process for starting your sessions.
The work MPOWER is doing with Man2Man and the HSE in response to the monkeypox outbreak has already been recognised as best practice in Europe for the ability to create awareness within the gbMSM community without being stigmatising. This new service is an addition to a wide range of services that MPOWER offers to the community.
Our new free counselling service is available to anyone that would benefit from time and space to discuss a monkeypox diagnosis or the impact the outbreak is having on your mental, sexual or social health with our MPOWER psychotherapist.
For more details: https://t.co/HO7iX7IwAQ pic.twitter.com/zbcS284WjJ
— Adam Shanley (@Adlers1) August 31, 2022
As of the latest update on the current outbreak, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) has confirmed 144 cases of monkeypox in Ireland. These are part of a wider global outbreak of the virus, with more than 49,000 cases confirmed in Europe only.
In August, the HSE announced the first phase of their vaccination programme and said that groups who were considered most at risk, including gay, bisexual men who have sex with men and transgender people who had been “notified as having early infectious syphilis between December 2021 and July 2022” would have priority in receiving the vaccine.
Even though initial doses of the vaccine in Ireland remained low, on August 25, new recommendations were announced, which allow for a significant increase in the number of doses available.
If you wish to know more about monkeypox and the free counselling service offered by MPOWER, click here.
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